After a very weak January, Russian softwood lumber exports have seen constant increases. In April in particular, export volumes were significantly bigger than last year.
Main importer China bought over 600,000 m³ less softwood lumber in the first four months, bringing its overall import down from 5.5 million m³ in the period January to April 2020 to only 4.9 million m³ this year (-11%).
Marked increases were recorded in shipments to countries where prices are higher, such as Estonia (+43%) or Germany (+35%). What is also unusual is the absence of the US among the Top 10 importing countries. The Russian sawmill industry has not yet adapted to the specific dimensions required on the US market.
Data are provided by the Russian customs authorities. As always, you can find the detailed development of Russian softwood lumber exports in our Datacube.
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